*Click here to watch Saturday's UO-Cal match for free at the www.CalBears.com website.

ON TAP THIS WEEKEUGENE – In its penultimate weekend of regular season action, the No. 15 University of Oregon volleyball team (18-8, 11-7) travels to the Bay Area for another key weekend against the defending league co-champions.

Two years ago, the then-No. 15 Ducks staked its second-ever weekend sweep of Cal and Stanford in the 31 years of conference play. UO’s 3-0 and 3-1 home wins vs. the then-No. 14 Bears and then-No. 5 Cardinal marked its 15th and third victories in the all-time series.

UO will take on its second straight pair of top-five ranked teams and sixth pair since the start of the modern volleyball era in 1981. Last weekend, Oregon upset its second top-ranked foe of the season (and ever) in an 0-2 comeback vs. UCLA. The next night, then-No. 4 USC staked its 18th win the last 19 league matches en route to a 3-0 win, two days before it moved to No. 1 in this week’s national polls.

Likewise in August, Oregon’s upset at then-No. 1 Penn State was its first win in 19 all-time meetings against top-ranked teams, and ended the four-time defending national champions’ NCAA-record 94-match home win streak.

The tightly-contested Pac-12 race still features three teams within two matches of each other – No.1 USC (17-2), No. 2 UCLA (16-3) and No. 3 Cal (15-4). No. 5 Stanford trails 1 1/2 matches back in fourth place with a 14-5 record, and No. 15 UO and No. 10 UW are tied for fifth place with 11-7 marks.

LAST WEEKEND’S RECAPLast Friday’s 3-2 comeback win over UCLA was its fifth in the series under Duck head coach Jim Moore (compared with one all-time in the 42 matches before his arrival). In the match, UO was the first UCLA opponent this year to log more kills (68-54), and the second league rival this year to hold Bruin hitters under .200 (.173 to be exact).

On Saturday vs. USC, Oregon lost its first match of the year when it hit .300 and became only the third Trojan foe to hit +.300 this year. UO also held a sizable edge in blocks (9.5-5.0), but USC still hit .359, and was keyed by Pac-12 Player of the Week and All-America outside hitter Alex Jupiter (.367, 14 kills, 15 digs, 5 aces, 3 blocks, 21.5 points).

RECENT DUCK HEROESIn another of her greatest collegiate matches, redshirt junior outside hitter Alaina Bergsma’s 25 kills and 29 points were UCLA opponent season highs, and she ranked second for Oregon in aces (2) and third in blocks (3). Against the Trojans, she again paced the team in kills (13) and aces (3) – and her latter season high tied UO’s third-best total of the year.

That same Stanford win was UO’s first over the Cardinal since ’89, and third all-time in the series. The night before’s triumph over Cal was its first 3-0 series win since 1990, and one of three Bear upsets by Moore’s teams that included a 3-1 wins in ’08 vs. the then-No.7 Cal in Eugene in ’08 and vs. then-No. 8 Cal in ’06 in Berkeley.

This year in their first season meetings in early October, Matthew Knight Arena welcomed a home school attendance record of 6,210 for its match vs. then-No. 4 California in Eugene. Then-No. 15 Oregon demolished the former record (3,817) from 2008, but ultimately dropped its weekend tilts to the defending league co-champion Bears, 3-0, and No. 7 Cardinal, 3-1.

Junior outside hitter Alaina Bergsma’s 26 kills vs. Stanford was one off her Duck career and team season high, and she also led the team in hitting both nights (.096 / .266).

Among other notable efforts, junior middle blocker Milica Krstojevic’s six blocks vs. the Cardinal is tied for second-best this year for the Ducks; and Bergsma and junior defensive specialist Kellie Kawasaki added two aces each vs. Bears to match her then-season bests.

FURTHER UP DOWN THE ROADNext weekend, Oregon caps the regular season Thanksgiving week with 7 p.m. showdowns at Oregon State, Tuesday, November 22, and in Eugene, Friday, November 25.

The 64-team NCAA tournament field will be announced on Sunday, November 27 at 3 p.m. PT on ESPN-U. The following weekend, the NCAA first and second rounds will be held Thursday-Saturday, December 1-3 at 16 sites nationally.

The remaining 16 teams will play in four NCAA Regionals, Thursday-Saturday, December 8-10, hosted by Florida, Hawai’i, Kentucky and Minnesota – with the matches to be televised by ESPN-U and ESPN3.com.

A week later the NCAA Semifinals will be staged in the Alamodome in San Antonio, Thursday, December 15 and shown at 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. PT by ESPN2 / ESPN3.com. The national championship match follows two days later on Saturday, December 17 at 5:30 p.m. PT on ESPN2 / ESPN3.com.

AROUND THE LEAGUEIn Pac-12 action last weekend, then-No. 5 California won 3-0 at Washington State and 3-1 at then-No. 11 Washington; then-No. 3 Stanford won 3-1 Washington State and lost 3-2 at then-No. 11 Washington; Arizona beat Colorado 3-2 and Utah 3-0 in Tucson; ASU won 3-1 vs. Colorado and 3-2 vs. Utah in Tempe; and Oregon State lost 3-1 to then-No.1 UCLA and 3-0 to then-No. 4 USC in Corvallis.

UPCOMING TICKET PROMOTIONSThe Oregon State home match next Friday (11/25) at 7 p.m. is Pack Matt Night. Fans that show their Bi-Mart card at the door will get 2 for 1 admission.

On the individual front, sophomore setter Lauren Plum ranked second in the conference in assists and 12th nationally (11.77 per set). Similarly, redshirt junior outside hitter Alaina Bergsma stood second in kills (4.61 p/s) and third in points (5.21 p/s) in the league and 11th and 10th nationally, respectively.

Bergstrom's 27 kills in the four-setter WSU is tied for a conference season best in a non-five set match and fourth-best overall, and her 26 vs. Stanford is tied for seventh-best overall. She also logged the Pac-12’s fifth-, and eighth-best point marks with her 29 in a five-set win vs. No. 1 UCLA and 28.5 in four-set wins at both ASU and WSU. Plum sports the league's best three-set assist total (52 vs. then-No. 7 UW) and her 58 assists at ASU and 56 vs. Utah are third- and fifth-best overall. Junior outside hitter Katherine Fischer's team-high four aces in the Utah sweep is tied for sixth-best in the league this year.

Sophomore middle blocker Ariana Williams rejoined the league top-10 list this week with her season hitting mark (.311).

A full list of Oregon sightings on the conference and national season charts follows:

DUCK STARTER NOTES - Redshirt junior outside hitter Alaina Bergsma continued to rank among the Pac-12’s top outside hitters this week and ranks second and third in the league in kills (4.61 p/s) and points (5.21 per set), and 11th and 10th nationally, respectively. The last two months, she has logged her six highest Duck career kill/point totals at WSU (27K, 28.5P), vs. No. 7 Stanford (26K, 27.5P), No. 1 UCLA (25K, 29P), at ASU (24K, 28.5P), vs. Minnesota (23K, 23.5P) and ASU (22K, 24P). This year, she has topped .300 in eight matches, including one +.500 effort at American (.538, 17K-3E-26A). In mid-September, she picked up her second Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week award after she led the team in kills and points in all three wins vs. Cal Poly, Arizona and Arizona State, twice in hitting and once in blocks. She torched ASU for a then-Duck career high in points (25), 22 kills, a .391 hitting mark and match-high four blocks. Against the NCAA returnee Wildcats, she racked up 16 kills in the sweep and a .353 hitting mark. She claimed her second double-double of the season vs. Cal Poly with her UO digs best (14) and 14 kills. She was tabbed the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week and AVCA Showcase All-Tournament pick after the opening weekend after her first double-double of the year vs. then-No.12 Minnesota (23K, 11D) and impressive stats in the upset of then-No. 1 Penn State (19K, 9D). Overall in 2011, the USA Volleyball A2 National team member has led UO in kills and points in 21 and 20 of the team’s first 26 matches, respectively. A returning All-Pac-10 Honorable Mention, she has logged 13 of the team’s top 15 kill totals this year (27, 26, 25, 24, 23, 22, 20, 19, 18 (x2), 17, 16, 15), and owns the team’s fourth-, seventh-, eighth-, ninth- and 11th-best hitting marks (.538 at American, .391 vs. ASU, .382 vs. Seattle, .379 vs. Colorado, .371 at WSU). She also owns the team’s top 10 point totals (29 vs. then-No. 1 UCLA, 28.5 at WSU/ASU, 27.5 vs. then-No. 7 Stanford, 24 vs. ASU and then-No. 3 Washington, 23.5 vs. then-No. 12 Minnesota, 21 vs. then-No. 1 Penn State, 20.5 vs. Utah, 20 vs. Seattle).

- Arguably Oregon’s most versatile player, junior outside hitter Katherine Fischer ranks second on the team in aces (0.21 p/s), kills (2.84 p/s), points (3.24 p/s) and digs (2.91 p/s). She logged seven double-doubles the last two months vs. then-No. 1 UCLA (12 kills, 20 digs), then-No. 7 Washington (10 kills, 18 digs), at then-No. 3 USC (10K, team season high 20 digs), at then-No. 6 UCLA (11K, 13 digs), vs. ASU (12 kills, 16 digs), at Colorado (14 kills, .542, 11 digs) and at Washington State (11 kills, 13 digs). In that same stretch, she logged the team’s season high in aces vs. Utah (4), and was just shy of another double-double (eight kills, nine digs). In the season opener at No. 1 Penn State, she claimed her season high in kills (19) and points (19.5), hit .317 against the four-time defending national champions, and fought through flu and dehydration the whole match in the 90-degree Exhibition Hall gym. In other non-conference tilts, she notched her first double-double of the campaign in the three-set win over Seattle (11K, 11D), and had another +10 kill effort vs. Utah (18), then-No. 12 Minnesota (10) and double-digit dig totals at Delaware (11), at American (13) and vs. Portland State (10).

- Sophomore setter Lauren Plum continues to rank among the nation’s top setters and directs the fast-paced Oregon offense that ranks seventh nationally (14.60 per set). Her 11.77 assists per set average ranked eighth nationally and second in the league this week, and is ahead of last year’s pace (11.75) that ranked 12th nationally and tops among frosh. Her career-high 10 double-doubles this year stands second-best in the league among both underclassmen and setters. She posted her six highest assist totals of the season, including five of which were double-doubles, vs. Utah (57 assists, 12 digs), No.1 UCLA (56 assists), at Washington State (54, 10 digs) and vs. ASU (53, 10 digs) and a three-set victory vs. No. 7 Washington (52, 12 digs). Her top three season assist totals (58 / 57 / 56) rank third, fifth and sixth overall in the league, and her 52 vs. the Huskies is the Pac-12 season best for a three-set match. Six weekends ago vs. the returning league co-champions she scored double-doubles thanks to her highest career digs totals vs. then-No. 4 California (19, 26 assists) and then-No. 7 Stanford (17, 47 assists). Her other double-doubles came in three-set wins over returning Big West champion Portland State (33 assists, 10 digs) and returning NCAA qualifier Arizona (32 assists, 10 digs), and five-set loss to then-No. 12 Minnesota (47 assists, 11 digs), while she just missed another double-double in the sweep at Utah (39 assists, 9 digs). In the Pac-10 opener vs. Arizona, she connected on a season high three aces to help end a five-match series losing streak. On the all-time Duck charts, she leads Ducks career-wise in assists per set (11.77), and ranks sixth in total assists (2,341). All-time for Oregon season-wise, she also stood top 10 this week twice in both assists (seventh, 1,246, 2010; eighth, 1,095, 2011) and assists per set (fifth, 11.77, 2011; sixth, 11.75, 2010). In early August before the season started, she helped the U.S. squad tie its best-ever finish (fourth, 4-4) in the 2011 FIVB World Junior Championships in Peru and started six matches. Last year she was an All-Pac-10 Freshman Team pick and was later tabbed to the 36-person USA Volleyball A2 National Team.

- Recent Pac-12 Freshman of the Week outside hitter Liz Brenner was honored after UO’s early November wins at ASU and Arizona. She landed a career high in kills in the four-setter in Tempe (18) - the then-second-highest frosh mark in the Pac-12 in 2011 - and led the team in hitting (.371). In Tucson, she added nine kills - three off her three-set season high - and four digs.She owns the team’s top hitting mark of the campaign in her collegiate debut at then-No. 1 Penn State (.579, 12K-1E-19A) and posted her personal high in digs (4). In the late October sweep of Colorado, her .526 mark is Oregon’s fifth-best this year, and she added 12 kills and three digs. In other recent action, she has had +10 kills vs. WSU (15), at No. 6 UCLA (13), vs. then-No. 7 Washington (12), at then-No. 3 Washington (10), WSU (10) and No. 3 USC (10) and vs. Utah (10), and her three blocks at WSU tied her season high. The prep All-American and two-time Oregon prep state player of the year has topped .300 in seven matches altogether, and others came at American (.636, 7K), and at Colorado (.467, 9K), against Liberty (.467, 9K), then-No. 12 Minnesota (.368, 10K) and Portland State (.375, 7K). Her season high in digs (6) came at then-No. 3 USC, and she had four the match before and after vs. No. 7 Stanford and at No. 6 UCLA. Her legacy as an impact player precedes her with 2010’s Under Armour All-America honor and state prep player of the year accolades the last two seasons. Off the volleyball court, the Portland, Ore., native was the state basketball player of the year last year, won two state titles in the shot put and runner-up honors in the javelin, and is also an 11-time world racquetball champion.

- The team’s starter at libero every match this year, junior Haley Jacob has logged the team’s digs season best (25) in five sets vs. Utah. She posted its second-best mark in the four-set win at ASU (23), third-best mark in a sweep of Cal Poly (21), fourth-best totals vs. then-No. 7 Stanford (20) and at WSU (20) – and all just shy of her career high (26) that came in five sets at then-No. 6 USC last fall. Also on the year, she also owns the team’s seventh-, and 10th-best dig marks (19x2, 17x2), and has paced the team in digs and aces in 17 and five contests, respectively. She logged a career high three aces vs. ASU – second-most for UO this year - and also landed two vs. No. 1 UCLA, Seattle and Utah.

- Junior defensive specialist Kellie Kawasaki has started 15 matches for the Ducks this year and is again one of its top servers with her 0.13 aces per set average. Her career and team season high in aces (4) came in the early November upset of then-No. 1 UCLA. She also landed two aces in three other matches in early September sweeps of Seattle and Portland State, and in an October three-setter vs. then-No. 3 California, and led the team each night. She has nine +10-dig figures this year in a five-setter vs. Utah (16), in four sets at then-No. 1 Penn State (10) vs. then-No. 7 Stanford (10) and at No. 6 UCLA (12), and in four sets at SU (11), and sweeps vs. Portland State (11), then-No. 7 Washington (10) and Liberty (10) and in five sets vs. No.1 UCLA (10).

- Filling a key void in the lineup last year, junior transfer and middle blocker Milica Krstojevic has logged +2 blocks in 13 of the team’s last 21 matches. She posted a career high six in five- and four-setters vs. WSU and then-No. 7 Stanford, and five in a sweep of Arizona. She has also posted four in three matches and three in three matches. On offense, she had a then-season high in kills (8) and hitting (.583) at Delaware and added two blocks. In late October, she posted a career high in kills vs. Utah (9) and hit .412, then added a .714 hitting mark vs. Colorado two days later. Altogether this year, she has topped .400 in 12 matches with other efforts vs. American (.750, 3K-0E-4A), vs. Colorado (.714, 5K-0E-7A), ASU (.625, 5K-0E-8A), at Delaware (.583, 8K-1E-12A), vs. No. 1 UCLA (.571, 4K-0E-7A), vs. Arizona (.500, 3K-0E-6A), WSU (.444, 4K-0E-9A), then-No. 7 Washington (.500, 1K-0E-2A), at then-No. 1 Penn State (.400, 3K-1E-5A) and No. 6 UCLA (.400, 3K-1E-5A). Among the team’s 26 matches, she has led the team in blocks in 10 matches, hitting three times, and aces once.

MORE DUCK PLAYER NOTES- Freshman setter Shellsy Ashen has logged the team’s frosh season high in aces (2) in five matches at No. 3 USC, and against ASU (twice), Cal Poly and Liberty. Three of those totals led the team in contests against USC, Liberty and Cal Poly. She ranks third on the team in service aces per set (0.20) and ranked top 10 in the Pac-12 much of the season.

- Freshman defensive specialist Natalie Bookout Gonzalez has played in 19 of the team’s 26 matches, and recorded digs in 10 contests. She logged her season high (5) in a five-set match vs. then-No. 12 Minnesota, and added multiple digs in wins against Arizona (3), Colorado (2), Liberty (2) and Portland State (2).

- Freshman outside hitter Chloe Buckendahl has been one of the team’s top additions at the service line. The Vista, Calif., native logged aces in two of her first three appearances of the year against No. 1 Penn State and Delaware. She added two digs in the sweep at Delaware, and logged her first collegiate kill the next week in a sweep of Seattle.

- Junior outside hitter Lauren Gross connected on a career-high 12 kills, 12.5 points and .345 hitting mark vs. Arizona State the first weekend of the Pac-12. The day before, the team’s lone left-hander also logged a career high in blocks (3) vs. Arizona. Three weeks before, she set then-career bests in kills (6) and points (6) in her two sets of play in the sweep of Liberty.

- Freshman middle blocker Savannah Paffen has made the team’s biggest contributions among freshmen on defense. Against No. 1 UCLA in early November, she helped the team to the upset with her career highs in kills (7), hitting (.429), blocks (5) and points (10.5). The prior month, she logged four blocks in three- and four-sets vs. No. 7 Washington and at No. 3 USC. Against the Trojans, her seven kills and nine points doubled her previous career highs, and she posted a .267 hitting mark and four blocks. Her four kills vs. the Huskies was her third-highest tally and she hit.500. On the year, she has led the team in blocks three matches with the others vs. UCLA (5) and at Colorado (3).

- Sophomore outside hitter Jaklyn Wheeler has played 10 matches for the Ducks this year. In the team’s upset of then-No. 1 UCLA, she posted career highs in kills (5) and points (5). She recorded two kills in sweeps vs. Portland State and at Colorado and in a five-set win over WSU. She logged an ace vs. PSU, a block against WSU and Colorado, and a season-high two digs vs. No. 4 California.

That aforementioned win over the Nittany Lions and October’s 0-2 comeback victory over then-No. 1 UCLA marked UO’s first and second wins in 20 all-time tilts against top-ranked teams. Oregon’s August victory in State College, Pa., also ended the longest-ever home win streak in the sport for the four-time defending national champions. Before Moore’s arrival, Oregon’s previous highest-ranked victim were three No. 7 teams three decades before – Stanford (1986), Hawai’i (‘84) and Texas (‘82).

Earlier this year, UO logged 10 wins or more in its first 14 matches under Moore for the seventh straight year and its victory totals in that span follow: 2011 (12), ‘10 (14), ’09 (12), ’08 (11), ’07 (12), ’06 (11) and ’05 (10). In contrast, Oregon had pulled the feat only three times before since the start of the NCAA volleyball era in 1981 under head coach Gerry Gregory in 1991 (10), ’90 (10) and ’89 (11).

Those early-season runs have helped him rack up a 73-4 non-conference record since his arrival, and that .948 non-conference winning percentage in those matches is easily the best of any UO volleyball coach.

With its 10 straight wins earlier this year, Oregon has won nine or more straight matches each of the last six years under Moore and their longest streaks each year follow - 2010 (14), '09 (10), '08 (9), '07 (10) and '06 (10).

UO’s prowess at home, especially in the non-conference slate, is well documented. The Ducks are 33-0 at home in non-conference action under Moore, thanks to its perfect marks in 2005 (5-0), ‘06 (4-0), ‘07 (6-0), ‘08 (6-0), ‘09 (5-0), ‘10 (4-0) and ’11 (3-0).

With its 19th win of the season last November at ASU, UO claimed +17 wins for five straight years for the first the first time since 1983-87. All five have come under Moore (20-’09; 25-’08; 22-’07; 17-’06), and no other Oregon mentor has ever won +20 matches three straight seasons or +19 wins in four straight years since the start of the NCAA volleyball modern era in 1981.

The dean of current Oregon head coaches, Moore guided UO to its first ever pair of NCAA Regional round of 16 trips in school history in 2007 and ’08, and sports a 5-4 record in his five Duck NCAA trips (compared with a 1-5 mark in its five prior NCAA appearances).

One of only two Duck mentors to beat every conference foe, he led the team to three straight of .500 or better marks (9-9 ’09; 11-7 ’08; 9-9 ’07) for the first time since 1986-88, and four straight top-six finishes for the first time in school history (fourth in ’08, fifth (tie) in ’07 and sixth (tie) in ’06).

In the national rankings, UO has ranked top 25 in 72 polls in his tenure, thanks to a 59 straight editions from 2007-10 - more than double its previous best (28, 1986-88) - and two weeks late in 2006. That stretch included an all-time high of No. 6 in ’08 among its seven weeks in the top 10.

Oregon has beaten 15, top-10 ranked teams under Moore (compared with six in the 23 previous years in the modern volleyball era (1982-2004)). Considering matches vs. top-five teams since '82, UO has staked all five of its victories since 2006, and 21 of its 39 all-time wins vs. top-25 teams (with 15 of those Moore-directed wins considered upsets based on that week’s national rankings).

No. 5 CARDINAL SCOUTING REPORT (19-5, 13-5)Picked to finish third in the league and sixth nationally in the preseason Pac-12 and national polls, the Cardinal started have ranked top seven nationally every week, with two weeks at second and two more weeks at third. The first month of the season, the Cardinal sported a 6-0 non-conference mark that included 3-1 and 3-2 home wins over then-No. 3 Penn State and then-No. 7 Florida. In Pac-12 action, it has been swept twice by No. 4/12 USC and also lost at No. 11 Washington last week (3-2).

11th-year head coach John Dunning has staked four national titles at Pacific (1985, ’86) and Stanford (2001, ‘04). The Cardinal has made four other NCAA championship match appearances in his tenure (2002, ’06, ’07, ’08). Last year’s Pac-10 co-champions ranked No. 1 four weeks in 2010 among its entire year in the top four nationally. However, after a loss to 3-2 to USC in the NCAA regional final, the Cardinal graduated three All-Americans in Gabi Ailes, Cassidy Lichtman and Alix Klineman.

No. 4 GOLDEN BEARS SCOUTING REPORT (25-4, 15-4)In the preseason polls, the Bears were picked second in and third nationally, and since then have stood top seven every edition, including four weeks in August and September at first and two weeks at second in mid-October. In non-conference play, Cal didn’t lose a set, while all four of its losses came to then-top-12 ranked L.A. rivals (vs./at No. 4/12 USC (3-0, 3-0) and vs./at No. 6/7 UCLA (3-1, 3-1)). In contrast, its ranked wins this year have come vs. No. 2 Stanford (3-1), at No. 15 Oregon (3-0) and vs. No. 2/11 vs./at Washington (3-1, 3-1).

Last year’s AVCA Coach of the Year, head coach Rich Feller has directed the Bears to seven 20-win seasons and nine NCAA appearances in his 13 years at the helm (including six round of 16 bids and another Final Four trip in ’07 that also earned him Volleyball Magazine’s Coach of the Year). Picked to finish fifth last year in the Pac-10, the upstart Bears tied rival Stanford for the conference crown, then went on to advance to the NCAA final under the direction of then-senior setter Carli Lloyd, the national player of the year.

ON THE CHARTSLast weekend, with redshirt junior outside hitter Alaina Bergsma moved up places on the Duck all-time in career points (ninth, 837.5) and season points lists (seventh, 479.0), and junior libero Haley Jacob made a similar appearance on the season digs list (10th, 387).

Last year, Plum and Jacob made their debuts on the Duck all-time season lists, and are on pace to repeat the feat this year with Bergsma. Here are their current standings on various Duck charts:

IN THE POLLSThis week, UO was one of six Pac-12 teams spotted in the top 15 nationally, and in previous weeks had been ranked No. 16 five times, No. 15 three editions, No. 18 once and No. 20 twice.

The Pac-12 featured four teams ranked top five for the second straight week – No. 1 USC (22-4), No. 2 UCLA (23-4), No. 3 California (25-4) and No. 5 Stanford (20-5). No. 10 Washington also returned to the top 10, and Arizona received votes for the 13th straight edition.

Compared to last week, USC improved three spots and made its first appearance at No. 1 since 2004; California and Washington improved two and one positions, respectively; and UCLA and Stanford dropped one and three spots, respectively.

Among other teams in the top five, the former No. 2 team - Nebraska - dropped two spots Monday after it won 3-0 at Indiana and was swept at then-No. 10 Purdue last weekend.

Under seventh-year head coach Jim Moore, the Ducks have been ranked top 25 in 73 polls, thanks to 59 straight editions from 2007-10 - more than double its previous best (28, 1986-88) - and two weeks late in 2006.

BALANCE IS BETTERIn 2011, Oregon continues to flex its balance in all phases of the game, especially in the hitting and blocking categories. The Ducks featured three or more player with +.300 attack marks and/or +10 kills in nine and 10 matches, respectively, and 12 matches with +10 digs.

RIDING HIGH IN THE RPI In this week’s NCAA RPI rankings of the season, UO climbed five spots to 34th nationally – one of seven Pac-10 teams spotted in the top 50 with USC (ninth), UCLA (11th), Stanford (14th), California (27th), Washington (29th) and Arizona (50th).

The sweep of the Huskies was UO’s first since 1995 and its second of four wins the last 32 matches in the series. The night before, she helped UO win its 12th straight match in the series vs. the Cougars (and the last four with her at setter).

Against No. 7 Washington, her 52 assists in three sets was a Pac-12 season high, and only two off her then- season high in four sets vs. WSU (54).

The Huskies came into the match leading the nation in blocks, and also ranked second in the league in opponent hitting percentage (.127). UO and Plum answered the challenge by staking the highest hitting mark by a UW foe this year (.283) – a full .040 higher than its previous opponent season best (UCLA, .243).

Her ability to evenly distribute the ball proved the difference and gave the balanced Duck offense four hitters with +10 kills for the fifth time this year, but first in three sets.

She also added 12 digs for her second double-double of the weekend and 15th career-wise. Her eighth double-doubles overall this year is tops among underclassmen and fourth-most in the league.

She entered the Fox/Root Sports-TV match vs. WSU midway through the first set, and still ended with 45 assists, and logged half of the team’s four aces. She also posted a double-double with her 10 digs, and ranked second on the squad with her blocks season high (4) that doubled her previous 2011 best.

Thanks to her weekend 12.12 assists/per set average, she improved to fifth nationally and first in the Pac-12 (11.80 per set), and a comparison of her other weekend vs. previous season averages follows: digs (2.75/2.44), aces (0.25/0.21), blocks (0.50/0.27) and points (1.06/0.81).

Against UW, she connected on match highs in kills (21), points (23) and hitting (.559); her kill tally was a team season high; and her hitting mark (.559) was third-best for UO in ‘10 and tops among efforts of 15 kills or more. The night before vs. the Cougars, she again led the team in kills (12) – her first honor of the season – and hit .417.

In 2009, All-American Sonja Newcombe picked up similar honors after the team’s wins against then-No. 5 Stanford and then-No. 14 California in Eugene, and in ’08 after home victories vs. then-No. 4 USC and then-No. 5 UCLA. In ’07, All-American Gorana Maricic was likewise tabbed after wins vs. then-No. 6 USC and then-No. 9 UCLA in Eugene.

2010 SEASON REVIEWSporting only one upperclassmen on its roster at the 2010 season’s end, the Ducks (19-11, 7-11) overachieved in many ways and nearly garnered their fifth straight postseason appearance under head coach Jim Moore.

Oregon started the season with a school record 14-match win streak en route to a season high ranking of 11th nationally, then opened the conference season with its first home sweep of the Washington schools since 1989.

The team added six more conference wins in the ensuing months to position themselves for a fifth straight postseason bid, but unfortunately was not invited when different at-large considerations were used than traditionally in the past. The tourney snub also ended UO’s record ranking run at 59 weeks after UO had been ranked between 11th and 24th all season long.

Since the debut of the 64-team tourney format in 1998, UO became the first Pac-10 program not to receive an NCAA bid that posted at least 17 wins, while only twice before had teams with 16 wins not qualified (Arizona, 16-14, 2008; Oregon State, 16-16, 2003).

The Ducks combined for a host of individual awards, led by senior outside hitter Heather Meyers. The All-Pac-10 First Team choice ended her career ranked second in league history in service aces and top-10 for Oregon in nearly every career all-time category.

Meyers’ honor was the seventh in head coach Jim Moore’s tenure and raised Oregon’s overall tally to 14. Plum was Moore’s fifth All-Pac-10 Freshman Team honoree and 11th in school history since the origin of the Pacific-10 Conference in 1986.

Earlier during the year, Bergsma became the fourth Duck in a many years to claim AVCA National Player of the Week honors after her efforts in early September home wins vs. UW (a team season high in kills (21) and .559 hitting mark) and WSU (12 kills, .417).

Sophomore outside hitter Katherine Fischer was the only underclassmen to receive ESPN Academic All-America honors with her third-team nod based on her stats and 4.0 cumulative GPA.

2010 PAC-12 POSTSEASON RUNDOWNConference co-champion and #7 NCAA tourney seed California ended the 2010 campaign as the national runner-up after a 3-0 loss to top-seeded Penn State. The Bears advanced to their first final after it swept both #6 seed USC in the semifinals and Washington in the regional finals.

The Trojans also beat a league rival, #3 seed and conference co-champion Stanford in a dramatic 3-2 match, after wins over Indiana (3-0), San Diego (3-1) and New Mexico (3-0).

Two other conference teams made the field as UCLA lost in the second round to #9 seed Texas, 3-1, and beat American, 3-2 in the opener, while Arizona lost its opener, 3-1, to Northwestern.

The Pac-12’s status as the nation’s premier volleyball league goes back to the first NCAA Championship in 1981 when USC beat UCLA for the national title – one of five times that the Pac-12 has swept the top two places nationally.

The Pac-12 has advanced at least one team every year to the national semifinals except twice, including 12 tourneys with two teams and thee years with three of the four teams.

More information on the NCAA tourney is available at the www.NCAAsports.com website.

BRAINS & BRAWNLast week, outside hitter Katherine Fischer repeated as a Academic All-District First-Team choice, less than a year after she was tabbed a Third-Team Academic All-American.

The accounting major from Los Altos, Calif., entered the fall with a 4.02 cumulative GPA – the highest among the two teams – and is the fourth Duck all-time to receive national Academic All-America honors with Kristen Bitter (Third Team - 2006), Casey Crisler (Third Team - 1997) and four-time recipient Sue Harbor (First Team - 1984, '85); Second Team – 1982, ‘83).

To be eligible for the award, student-athletes must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.30 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale); be a sophomore or older; and played at least one full calendar year at her current institution.

Last fall, defensive specialist Kellie Kawasaki also was tabbed to the Academic All-District Third Team, and is one of six honorees in Jim Moore’s tenure. Former setter Nevena Djordjevic picked up similar second- and third-team honors in 2008 and ’09, and Bitter was a first-team choice in ’06.

Prior to Moore’s arrival, only one other Duck had picked up academic all-district honors – former setter Casey Crisler in 1995, ’96 and ’97.

Overall, UO has racked up 25 Pac-10 league all-academic honors in six years under head coach Jim Moore after it received at least three honors in 2008 (4), ‘07 (4), '06 (4) and '05 (5), and two in ‘09.

HOME COURT MAGICIn early October, the Ducks welcomed a record home volleyball crowd of 6,210 to a Matthew Knight Arena match vs. returning league co-champion and No. 4 California.

In November 2008, UO set its previous attendance record vs. then-No. 5 Washington (3,817) and reset the former mark (3,716) from its win vs. Oregon State in 1996. The Ducks had another +3,000 total two nights before vs. Washington State (3,169), now its fourth-largest attendance ever.

Overall in his seventh season at the helm, head coach Jim Moore and the Ducks have now played in front of 13 of the 19 largest home volleyball crowds at Matthew Knight Arena and Ma Arthur Court.

Oregon’s burgeoning fan support has helped the program to a 33-0 non-conference home record under Moore, thanks to perfect marks in 2005 (5-0), ’06 (4-0), ‘07 (6-0), ‘08 (6-0), ’09 (5-0,)’10 (4-0) and ‘11 (3-0). A complete list of the top-19 ranked crowds during the Moore era follows:

Season-wise, UO's overall average in 2010 (1,295) and 2009 (1,433) both ranked 27th among the 369 Division 1 teams, while its nine-match conference average in 2008 (2,393) was almost a 1,000 better than its 2007 average (1,412).

JIM MOORE - HEAD COACH PROFILEOregon's mercurial rise into the national elite has been charted by Jim Moore, the 2007 Collegiate Volleyball Update Coach of the Year and 2006 Pac-10 Conference Coach of the Year.

In 2010, he guided arguably his youngest team ever to a season-high 11th place national ranking and a 19-11 record. Oregon ran its AVCA ranking streak to 59 straight weeks, thanks to a school-record 14-match win streak to open the season en route to its fifth straight season with +17 wins (20-’09; 25-’08; 22-’07; 17-’06) for the first time since 1983-87.

The youthful Duck squad sported only one upperclassmen on its roster at season’s end, senior Heather Meyers who graduated ranked second all-time in the Pac-10 in career service aces (173). The All-Pac-10 First Team outside hitter also led the Pac-10 (0.56 p/s) and ranked sixth in the league in points (4.57 p/s) with the fourth- and sixth-best marks all-time for UO, and graduated top-10 ranked in nearly every school career category. All-Pac-10 Freshman team setter Lauren Plum ranked 12th nationally in assists (11.75) – tops among freshmen - and was later picked to the A2 National Team with All-Pac-10 honorable mention and outside hitter Alaina Bergsma. Sophomore outside hitter Katherine Fischer logged the highest double-double totals (14) among non-seniors, and topped the league in most aces in a match (6) with Meyers who recorded the feat three times.

In 2009, UO again spent the entire season ranked top 20 and climbed as high seventh nationally – its second highest polling ever. At season’s end, UO notched its third straight 20-win season (20-10) for the first time since 1978-80, a 14th-place NCAA tourney seeding and 17th-place final national ranking.

Oregon’s 9-9 Pac-10 mark was its third straight of .500 or better (9-9 ’09; 11-7 ’08; 9-9 ’07) for the first time since 1986-88, and its sixth-place finish marked its fourth straight top-six finish (fourth in ’08, fifth (tie) in ’07 and sixth (tie) in ’06).

UO claimed five wins over top-20 teams, including a pair of 0-2 comebacks vs. then-No. 7 UCLA, and at then-No. 4 Washington, and 3-2 wins over No. 5 Stanford and No. 9 Minnesota (3-2) and its first blanking of No. 14 California since ‘90. Oregon’s first victories over the Cardinal and Huskies since 1989 and 2000, respectively, also meant that Moore is the second mentor ever to lead UO to wins over all nine Pac-10 rivals in his career.

The Ducks were rewarded with a No. 14 NCAA Tournament seed – its third straight top-16 seed after it posted four wins against top-10 teams, including a pair of 0-2 November comebacks that resulted in 3-2 upsets of then-No. 7 UCLA and at then-No. 4 Washington.

In October, Oregon’s 3-2 win over then-No. 5 Stanford and 3-0 blanking of then-No. 14 Cal marked its first weekend sweep of the Bay Area rivals since ‘89, and the Stanford and Washington victories positioned Moore as the second Duck mentor to defeat every Pac-10 opponent.

Early in the season, UO climbed as high as No. 7 in the AVCA national poll its 42nd straight top-20 ranking (and among 14, top-10 appearances). That second-highest-ever ranking – just shy of its sixth-place ranking in ‘08 – came after a victory vs. then-No. 9 Minnesota that extended its third, school record start (10-0) the last four years. McArthur Court roared in approval countless times as UO went 11-2 at home, while its third-biggest-ever attendance of 3,564 in the Pac-10 opener marked another of the 10 crowds in Moore’s short tenure that rank among the 16 biggest in school history.

Fueling Oregon’s success again in ‘09 was the record-setting senior trio from his first Duck recruiting class – the All-America pair of outside hitter Sonja Newcombe (1,852 points) and middle blocker Neticia Enesi (389 block assists) and setter Nevena Djordjevic (4,400). Enesi and Newcombe were repeat All-Pac-10 picks and the latter player picked up her second AVCA National Player of the Week and third and fourth Pac-10 Player of the Week nods. Djordjevic, a All-Pac-10 honorable mention choice, ended the regular season ranked second nationally in assists (12.38), and Newcombe stood 20th in points (4.89) and kills (4.35) as did Enesi ranked 16th in hitting (0.374).

UO enjoyed another record-breaking campaign in 2008 under the Long Beach, Calif., native when it racked up its most overall wins (25) since 1984, scored its second straight (and ever) trip to the third round of the 64-team NCAA tournament, and its best Pac-10 finish and record (fourth, 11-7) since '87. During the regular season, Oregon enjoyed a school record 15-match home winning streak and its highest ever ranking (No. 6) among a string of top-15 rankings all season long that included a season-ending ninth-place position. Other highlights included a new school record crowd (3,817) and #3-biggest mark vs. Washington State (3,169), and its first pair of upsets vs. top-five ranked rivals (No. 4 USC (3-0) and No. 5 UCLA (3-1)).

In return for the team’s success in 2008, UO celebrated its first pair of same season All-Americans (Neticia Enesi, Gorana Maricic), first All-Pac-10 and All-Region trio (Enesi, Maricic, Newcombe); its second National Player of the Week honoree (Newcombe) after Maricic claimed similar honors in 2007; and new school and individual hitting records (.289 / .389 by Neticia Enesi).

2007 proved another storybook season when Oregon sprinted out to a 10-0 start, then advanced to the 64-team NCA Tournament third round for the first time after wins over Missouri State (3-0) and 11th-seeded Kansas State (3-2). The latter of those wins was a memorable one for Moore when UO battled back from a 2-0 deficit to upset No. 11 seed Kansas State on its home floor - a program he had also resurrected a decade prior. The Ducks flashed similar instincts a month before at home when it beat its first pair of top-10 ranked foes (No. 6 USC and No. 9 UCLA) en route to a 9-9 league record and fifth-place finish (its best since 1989), while its 22-11 record featured its most overall wins since 1986.

On the individual front in ‘07, outside hitter Gorana Maricic was tabbed UO’s second-ever All-American and a first-team Pac-10 and All-Region pick; Heather Meyers, Sonja Newcombe and Katie Swoboda were Pac-10 honorable mention choices; and Meyers was a Pac-10 All-Freshmen Team selection.

In his 23rd year as a collegiate head coach, Moore began UO's transformation in 2005 by leading the Ducks to their then-highest win total (12) and winning percentage (.400) in 14 seasons. The next year in '06, he led the Ducks to their then-best overall (17-12) and conference (7-11) marks in nearly two decades, and Oregon was rewarded with its first postseason invitation since 1989. Sonja Newcombe was tabbed to the Pac-10 All-Freshman Team, and Neticia Enesi and Nevena Djordjevic were chosen as honorable mentions.

For comparison's sake, Oregon amassed a 24-64 record the three seasons prior to Moore's arrival, and registered just two Pac-10 wins. Since his arrival, UO has gone 95-59, won 37 Pac-10 matches and made three consecutive NCAA tournament trips for the first time in school history.

The fifth-year Duck mentor initially staked his reputation as a master program rebuilder at Northern Michigan (1989-94, 03-04), Kansas State (1994-97), Texas (1997-01) and Chico State (2001-03).

Those programs combined for a 143-228 (.385) mark before his arrival and improved to 268-118 (.694) the first season under his tutelage. That first stop included the 1993 national championship at Northern Michigan - part of a run that included two championship trips and three quarterfinal appearances.

In the Big 12 Conference, he took a Kansas State program that had gone 24-68 overall and 0-36 in Big 12 play and produced three straight winning seasons, a 26-9 mark in '96 and the team's first NCAA trip. At Texas, he guided the legendary program to the Big 12 title, three NCAA appearances, one Player of the Year honor, seven All-America selections and eight All-Big 12 honors. His Chico State squads went from a 15-75 record the three seasons before his arrival to 16-13 and 18-8 marks, and his subsequent Northern Michigan teams produced a sparkling 50-8 record.